Human nature

AGREE: point 1

Theme: The qualities that humans possess. All liberals agree that humans are naturally free, self-directed and can make sense of the world. Believe in Locke’s idea of the Mechanistic Theory, that we as humans can derive a state that reflects mankinds needs. Similarly, modern (but can be classified as classical) liberals such as John Stuart Mill believe in the “capacity to plan”, meaning that life does not just occur because of “fate” or the “will of god” but rather we as humans have the capacity to plan and make our own fate

DISAGREE: Point 1

Liberals disagree about whether our qualities are innate or need to be developed. Classical liberals, such as John Locke, believe in foundational equality, that all humans are born with the same rights. Thus, believes in the idea of the “passive machine”, that we are all born with the same mind and thus, no one should have superiority over another. This also means that we are purely a product of our own environment, and hence, believe in negative freedom. However, modern liberals believe that we are not just a product of our environment, as the “passive machine” would suggest, we are capable or directing ourselves and striving for more, thus believe in positive freedom, the ability to do something. Betty Friedan believed that she needed national cooperation to support women’s rights in order to gain them

AGREE: Point 2

Humans are naturally individualistic and seek individual solutions to all problems. John Stuart Mill believed in this concept.

DISAGREE: Point 2

Classical liberals believe that individual liberty needs to be maximalised by having freedom from the state (negative freedom). Samuel Smiles believed in the idea of “self-help”, that we should not rely upon each other for help, for example, with charities, but rather should seek to help ourselves. Modern liberals, such as John Rawls, believed that humans can maximise their individuality by helping each other. It benefits the whole of society if everyone is educated for example

LOA?

Fundamentally agree on major concepts.